My Guardian (I'll Look After You)
by Nightwingess
Summary: Jack is a new Guardian and his first task is to watch over a young girl named Rapunzel.


**Prompt: **"If you're taking requests still could you do an AU where Jack is Guardian Angel or something assigned to Rapunzel, who ran away from her mothers cottage where she was forced to never leave to be free, to keep her safe and he gets feelings for her?"

* * *

Jack had been a guardian for less than a month when he was assigned his first charge, a girl by the name of Rapunzel who was, as he was told, destined for "great things." When he asked what those things were supposed to be, he got a very vague answer. The vagueness, the rules, the restrictions of being a guardian frustrated him. He missed the old days when he was human and could do as he pleased without having to answer to anyone. He'd run through the forest, hang from trees and taste the air on his face as he dived from the top of a waterfall. Those days ended when they made him into a protector, one who was stuck sitting around until he was given someone to actually protect.

He'd tried to leave before, fled to his old town but no one could see him. He called out to them, he tried to reach for them but his hand would go right through, and every time he'd feel a bit more empty inside. Being a guardian meant only those he protected and his fellow guardians could see him, a little fact they'd failed to tell him about. He'd tried to reason with them, told them he was never meant to be a guardian, he was just a kid out to have fun.

_The moon doesn't make mistakes, t_hey'd said, and it was the moon who'd chosen him.

After all his protest, all his tantrums, he'd given up trying to change their mind. It was then that they gave him his first charge.

When he came to find her at cottage near the edge of the forest, the place he was told she'd be, he was surprised to see her running from it with a bag around her shoulders and tears in her eyes. He called out to her but she was moving too fast to hear anything except her own heartbeat and footsteps.

He decided to let the wind carry him to her until she stopped to rest. The poor girl hadn't stopped running for an hour before she stumbled down a path in a forest and fell flat on her face. She was too tired to get up and only turned her body halfway so that she wasn't breathing in the dirt she'd fallen into.

"Are you okay?" Her eyes widened and she reached inside her bag for her pan. She jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain from doing so, and lunged forward to the sound she'd heard.

"Over here." Jack said playfully.

She jumped again and held the pan up above, "Just kidding, I'm here." Jack whispered into her ear. She fell back onto the tree.

"Hi." Jack knelt down and extended his hand, she was breathing so hard he'd regretted scaring her, "I'm Jack, Jack Frost and I'm your guardian."

"Guardian?" He was surprised by how sweet her voice sounded despite the way her body shook as though she couldn't be more terrified.

"Yeah, apparently we're handpicked to watch over people that are, and I quote, 'destined for greatness.'"

She looked around, "Me?" Jack nodded.

She wasn't sure what to think. She'd just runaway from home, her mother wouldn't be back for another day, she couldn't already know what Rapunzel had done so the idea of Jack being a spy sent to come find her was unlikely. Still, she couldn't be sure if she could trust him, especially because of why he said he was here.

"But, I… I'm just a girl with no one. Locked away, just broke free, I've never done anything important."

"Not yet, 'destined' implies future, don't feel bad about the confusion though, they say English is tricky." He almost laughed at his own clever statement.

"Oh." She rubbed her eyes, she felt so tired. She hadn't eaten since her mother had given her a loaf a bread, yesterday and all that running had left her so drained. He could see in her eyes how exhausted she was. She had light purple bags under them are her lips were almost blue.

"You can sleep, I'll watch over you." He surprised himself with how kind he sounded.

If she had not been so tired, Rapunzel would protested but her eyes were closing on themselves and his voice was so kind that she curled her body so that she was tightened into a small ball, and fell asleep.

Jack sat down next to her and pulled off his brown cloak to cover her. Even with the added warmth, she shook and her face grew paler. Mid way through the night she started to mumble, mostly pleas for food and to not be hit. He started to wonder if the reason those who'd sent him had been so vague about her backstory was because her story was too sad to tell.

"Don't worry," He whispered, "I'll look after you."

Rapunzel awoke to the sound of rustling leaves above her head. When she turned her body she saw Jack again, smiling at her. She hadn't gotten used to his face just yet and she once again fell backwards.

"I brought you food." Jack held out his hands, there were dozens of berries cupped in his palms and to Rapunzel's growing stomach, they couldn't smell sweeter. Even with her stomach practically screaming in hunger, the little voice in her head reminded her to never take food from strangers. Strangers, _people_ could not be trusted.

Jack could see the words "No, thank you" forming her eyes. He stuck his tongue out and picked up a berry from his hand with it, curled it back and swallowed. She almost smiled.

"See, safe!"

"I…"

"Come on, you know want to." His voice was a bit more flirtatious than he intended, but he was pretty sure he'd always been that way, even before becoming a guardian. She rolled her eyes to the right and sighed.

Rapunzel moved her hand to his and slowly picked up a berry, treating it as if it were a bomb. She was so hungry…

_If he wanted to kill me_, she thought, _he would have done so last night when I was completely defenseless._

She put the berry in her mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the juice and the feeling of the fruit's skin between her teeth and on her tongue. She reached for another and then paused, remembering something.

"Have you eaten?" He leaned back on his heel as a response. He didn't think she'd ask the question, no one asked the question because anyone who knew him was aware of the fact that he didn't need to eat.

"I'm not hungry, just ate that one so you'd trust me."

She shook her head and placed both hands on his fingers tips, she pushed them up to curl them around the berries.

"You first, I'll eat later."

Jack was beginning to feel as though she was the guardian, "I don't have to eat, trust me, it's a guardian thing."

"Guardian… oh right." She rubbed her eyes and got up from the ground. Her bag was on her side. She had a loaf of bread but she'd promised herself not to touch it until the second night so that it would last longer.

"Take them," He got up to hand them to her but she shook her head again.

"Ah, come on, I don't want you to starve, I'm suppose to be looking out for you, remember?"

"I'm used to going without a meal. But… if you want to help me, can you point me in the direction of somewhere safe, a town away from the cottage I was in?" She had rarely been outside, her "mother" would only let her go out to help her carry her purchases back to their home.

Those were the days she cherished most; she could see the stores, the horses and people, she would feel as though she weren't so alone. Whenever she accidentally brushed against another person, she'd smile because it was the human contact she'd wanted but couldn't have.

When they said hello to her she just about faint with joy. More than anything, she wanted them to take her with them, far away where she could be free. She knew what Gothel would do if she tried.

_She'd pull me back and never, ever let me go out again._

"I'm supposed to follow and make sure you don't get into trouble…" Jack laughed, why they sent the resident troublemaker to watch over her, he didn't know but he couldn't really do anything about it.

"I don't know this place too well either but," He floated up into the air and twirled his staff around, her eyes widened by how much height he'd taken. He was up at the top of the trees now.

"I think if we fly long enough we'll get pretty far," He held out his hand to her. She was about to reach for it, in a bit of a trance by what he'd just done.

"You're too high up!" She said more childish than she had intended. He chuckled, "I was teasing, hold on tight."

"Tight? But I'm down her-" She was cut off by Jack, who had grabbed her around the waist and swung her over his shoulder. In the next second he was up in the air again, this time so high he was touching the clouds.

When the wind had settled down, he threw his staff out in front of him and pulled her off his shoulders, she looked absolutely petrified.

"Hang on, gonna make this a bit more comfortable." He pulled his staff forward and under her feet. She tried to steady herself on the staff but teetered back and forth. It wasn't until he got on behind her and grabbed her hand that she finally found balance.

She made the mistake of looking down, her heart raced faster and faster and her face had gone completely white.

"You're not gonna die on me, are ya?" Jack asked teasingly. She shook her head no, it was the only movement she could make as the staff continued to turn in the air. She closed her eyes for a few moments to avoid the blur of clouds whipping past her. As the wind blew her hair back and she tried to ease her breath by mouthing out name of flowers, that he realized she looked very much like a delicate princess.

Sure, she was covered in dirt, twigs and grass but something in face held all those romantic notions of what a princess should be; sweet, kind, loving…

"You don't find this scary?" She whispered.

"Nah, do it all the time. Why, do you find it scary?"

"Yes, yes very much." Her answer was so genuine that he laughed, and when he laughed the staff shook more. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his waist and burried her face in his chest. She could hardly breathe being so high in the air.

"You get used to it." His voice was softer than before.

"I'd hope so, I just wish I could open my eyes because I'm sure the view is beautiful but I feel like I'm going to fall."

Jack had been so used to the feeling of flying that he'd forgotten how frightening it could be for those who'd never flown before. He looked down and saw her trying to peek from the slit of her eyes but the shake of the staff had made her feel so dizzy she closed them again.

"Here, let's try something else." He pulled her away from him and twirled her around on the staff, she gasped and opened her eyes out of impulse. Her dress blew behind her with one hand forward and the other being held by Jack. She was struck by the sight of hundreds, no thousands of treetops filled with brilliant shades of green, water that reflected the skyline and the bare touch of the clouds that passed her by.

"It is beautiful." Her throat was dry, and she felt the urge to fall to her knees. He sensed the quiver in her bones and dropped on one knee. With one foot on the staff and the other dangling off of it, he pulled down. She almost screamed from the quick movement, the scream was caught in the back of her throat and she soon found herself with both legs dangling over the staff while she sat sideways feeling oddly comfortable.

"Better?" Jack asked, he was grinning.

"If you don't let go, I'm not as bold as you." She smiled back and he nodded. The staff was still teetering and thus Rapunzel was still nervous but the clouds, the sky, the trees, the water were all so breathtaking to her that it made her forget, for a moment, that she was sitting on a piece of thin wood, flying chaotically in the air.

Jack knew the wind was going to change any second, it was being too calm for it to stay like this for long. He thought he should say something to her, she looked so peaceful now and knowing it would end made him want to warn her.

"Don't freak out princess, but we're about to take a nosedive."

She turned to look at him, "Princess? I'm not-"

The staff moved downward and this time she did scream, the wind had pulled them so low that they were inches away from the water. Because of how forceful the dive was, she found herself tipping back and her hair glided on the water's surface. With his hand still holding hers, he pulled her back up, worried she'd start to cry from the abrupt change of the wind.

She surprised him by smiling instead. A second later she pushed herself a bit forward and dipped her feet into the water. It only lasted for a few moments because the wind picked up again and they were up even higher than before.

"Enjoying yourself?" He leaned in to get a better grip on her.

"If this doesn't kill me, it's the best thing ever!" She was giggling, partly because of how terrified she was, and partly because the thrill had made her feel euphoric.

They rode in the air for almost an hour. Rapunzel had asked questions about Jack from his favorite color to his favorite town. She learned that he loved the color green, and that he couldn't pick a favorite town because no one could see him and so he was never part of any town he visited.

"That's awful." She sounded like she was about to cry and for that, Jack felt guilty.

"It's the rules," He made a disgusted face that made her laugh, "guardians are only seen by their charges, but I have one now." He winked at her. She looked away to hide her blush.

She didn't know why she was blushing, it might have been the fact that she'd never spoken to someone for this long before.

_Or because he's eyes are so very, very blue._

When she lowered her head to keep herself from staring, she gasped. She was surprised to see a field of flowers beneath them. It wasn't the new town she had been hoping to find but something about the violets and tulips had her wanting to stop and stare at them, maybe even run through the field.

"Would it be okay?" She'd asked him.

"Technically you're in charge so I'd have to oblige." He titled his head as if he was going to wink again but only smirked instead. The staff lowered to the grass and titled up so that they both slid off.

Rapunzel sighed in relief from the feel of it under her toes. She plopped down and laid back onto it, taking in the grass against her skin. Jack watched for a moment, feeling as though he were reliving a memory. The feeling left him feeling cold, he'd missed being in the fields.

"Are you okay?" She had sat up and was staring at him, looking very worried; although he hadn't realized it, the sadness he felt was shown on his face.

He waved his hand and forced himself to smile, he was her guardian, that meant protecting her from everything, including anything that would make her worry.

"Fine, but you know, what's really fun?"

She got up from the ground and walked up to him, she didn't fully believe that he was all right. She'd been alone in her bedroom, chained at times when her mother was feeling less trusting.

She could spot loneliness from a mile away and she refused to let him feel it for more than two seconds.

"You're sad, why are you sad?" She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him closer. Rapunzel had never learned how to properly talk to people or how to comfort them but she felt that if their faces were close enough, if they were looking eye to eye with her, they couldn't brush their feelings away.

"I…" He'd forgotten his thought and could only see how green her eyes were, "I was just thinking of my old life, that's all."

She let go of him and nodded understandingly, "And you're lonely now because no one can see you. And you want to say something but you can't, you're stuck and being stuck makes you feel even more alone."

He tried to laugh at her analysis but it came out like a cough. How could she know, she'd just met him last night and yet she was saying the things he couldn't bring to say himself out loud.

"Being alone is such a downer, I prefer to think about the now." He smiled at her and she smiled back, " I do too but if I bury what I feel inside it'll fester and eat me up," She put her finger on his heart, "and it'll eat you up to Jack."

He felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him, her touch was almost… healing.

"Now, what were you saying before?" He rubbed the side of his head, he couldn't remember what he had planned on saying before. It had something to do with the field, and her, something that he thought of when he realized they both had bare feet…

"Oh!" He dropped his staff, grabbed her hand, and pulled her with him through the field.

She was doing her best to keep up with him, all the while laughing as she stepped through the grass and flowers. She wanted to smell them and rub the petals against her face, she wanted to take in the sun in the sky, but first she had to see what it was that Jack wanted her to see.

"Where are we going?" She shouted.

"Not where, more like what we're about to do!" He shouted back. When they had reached the end of the field, she saw they were on a hill, a hill elevated a few feet up from the ground.

"I'm pretty sure I used to do this." He let go of her hand and laid on the grass. With his hands on his chest, he threw one leg up and twirled it over to his other side. As soon as he did, he started to roll down the hill, laughing with every roll he took. Rapunzel jumped up and down, cheering him on until he reached the bottom. He jumped up and gestured for her to come down too.

She pushed the hair back from her face, laid on the ground, closed her eyes, made the same kick motion as he did, and rolled down just as he had. As she rolled, she took in the scent of the grass and the dirt, it smelled like the sweet freedom she had never known. It made her feel alive.

When she reached the bottom she kicked up her arms and legs and started to laugh, "That was amazing, let's do it again!" They raced back up to the top of the hill and spent the next twenty mintues rolling themselves over and over again. When they were done, their sides ached from laughing so hard.

"Fun, right?" He said when their laughter had quieted.

"Amazing, you're a really great guardian." She fell back and breathed the air deeply, the sun touched her face and she curled into a ball as if to go to sleep. He watched her and wondered what was it that had made her so important for the future.

There were reasons he could guess as to why like the way she was so thrilled by things so small, how, despite her fear, she'd tried hard to open her eyes and with a little help from her guardian, succeeded. But more importantly, the way she saw right through him, the way her touch had made him feel, _that had to be it._

"Where to now princess?"

"I'm not a princess, you can call me Rapunzel!" She had realized then that she never told him her name, she didn't know he already knew it.

"Punz."

"Rapunzel."

"Punzie it is." She rolled her eyes and got up from the ground. He walked with her back up the hill. They walked through the flowers together and he laughed as she twirled through them. He even grabbed her hand and pulled her into dance.

"You know, if I had known you before I was a guardian, I think we would have gotten into a lot of trouble together."

"You're a troublemaker?"

"Technically I was one, now my job is to make sure you don't get into trouble so I can't exactly go looking for it."

She smiled, "Why would you go look for it?" He spun her around, "I don't really, I just like to have fun, sometimes fun requires trouble."

"The bad kind of fun."

"All about perspective princess."

"I'm not a princess."

"Perspective."

She blushed.

**[Author note: Play this song while you read the rest :D]**

From then on, Rapunzel and Jack were inseperable. They moved from field to field, forest to forest, town to town in search for a place where Rapunzel would feel safe. She'd thought the first town would do it. She'd wandered around the stores, eaten pastries from the local market and danced in the streets with the children, all the while Jack watching her, wanting to join in but settling for the seat above so that he could watch her flow through the people with so much brightness that they all smiled too.

Weeks passed, she'd made friends, she'd heard stories and told stories, she swam in lakes and helped cooked meals for those who never had enough to eat. She took care of children, played with dogs, braided hair, helped rebuild a home, grew crops on farms and did just about every helpful act she could commit herself to wherever she went. Still, she never could stay in a town for long.

Every town they went to felt so strange to her, not because the people were cruel, no most seemed so nice, so kind to her. Jack had said it was because of her effect on them, that people weren't so naturally loving but she had thought he was just trying to flatter her.

In a way he was, he wanted her to know how wonderful she was but often bit his tongue before saying more. He didn't want her to think he was in love with her, after all, he was her guardian, and in a way a friend, not someone who was meant to love her.

He looked after her.

"That's your job?" She said one day while she was eating an apple in an open field by a river, "To look after me?"

He laughed, "Isn't that what I've been telling you? I am your guardian after all."

"Mmm, yes but I'm never in danger, not since you first met me in the woods and even then I was just cold. When was that, four months ago?"

"I'd say so, and did you forget when you tripped down the stairs the other day, or was it just the wind that caught you?" He was joking but his voice was strained as though he really was worried she'd forgotten. She put her apple down and leaned forward to put her head on his shoulder.

"Of course not, I just mean… I don't think of you as a guardian, I think of you as a friend." She felt so warm on his shoulder that he'd forgotten what it felt like to feel cold. He was used to being cold, he felt cold everyday, so how was it that her touch made him feel this way.

"But I am your guardian," He whispered.

"Which means one day I'm supposed to do something amazing." She chuckled as she said it, not fully believing it. He moved away from her, at first she thought he had moved to pick something up but when she saw the look in his eyes, so serious, she'd thought she'd said something wrong.

"Jack?"

"Rapunzel, you're already amazing," He rubbed the back of his head, unsure if he should continue, "In fact, you're probably the most amazing, kindest, loving person in the world and the reason they sent me to find you…well the reason I think…" He stopped to take a breath, "I don't think they sent me to you because you needed me but because… because they knew I needed you."

She opened her mouth to speak but the breath was gone, taken from her by his words. She tried to shrug her shoulders and laugh but her body couldn't do it. In all the towns she'd been to, the farms she'd visited, the strangers she'd met on the roads, most of them had complimented her, thanked her for her kindness and while it made her happy, something about Jack's voice in that moment, the way he looked at her now as if she was the only one in the world… it made her feel different than she had before.

"You… you really care." She whispered.

He cleared his throat, the moment had gotten too serious for him, "Of course Punzie, besides if I don't keep an eye on you, who will keep you from dropping pies everywhere hmm?"

He had expected her to laugh but she didn't, she still looked serious.

"No Jack, you care. You care about me and not because you have to, you really care because you…" Rapunzel had thought Jack was her friend because he had to spend time with her, that forming a friendship was just easier for him. But no, it was more than that, he wasn't being nice to her because he was charged with protecting her, he was doing it because he had genuine feelings for her.

"Of course I care." He whispered, his throat went dry, "Why would you think anything else?"

He laid down on the grass and closed his eyes, afraid if he looked at her any longer he might say something else, something like loved her and of that he wasn't sure of, or if he was he didn't want to admit.

It was only a few seconds later that he felt her hands on his face and he opened them to see her smiling. He lifted his head and she leaned in, neither sure of what they were doing until their lips touched. It was only for a second or so before they both pulled away.

"We… we should head out, the wind is picking up." He coughed and stood up. Now he really couldn't look at her.

"Right!" She'd picked up his staff and handed it to him, "Where to?" Her eyes were glimmering, he thought he saw a bit of mischief in them, that made him proud.

"Anywhere you want to go princess, anywhere"

_And I'll follow._


End file.
